27 Chapter 27 Telephone
Translator: Larbre Studio
Editor: Larbre Studio
Under Mr. Jiang Jiankang’s enthusiastic persuasion, the members of the Chess Club stayed in the restaurant for dinner.
After dinner, Liu Qian stared longingly at the plate that had held the pork knuckles, now wiped so clean by her rice that it looked licked, her eyes brimming with tears as she said, “When I have money, I’m going to eat pork knuckles every day!”
What a lofty aspiration.
That night, Liu Qian completely let go and showed her true abilities, devouring six bowls of rice without any pretense of courtesy.
“Qianqian, do you always eat like this at school?” He Jiahui asked while rubbing her belly; she had overeaten by half a bowl herself and now felt extremely bloated.
“No, I usually only eat four bowls,” Liu Qian said.
The crowd: …
“A good appetite, that’s great!” Jiang Jiankang said with a hearty laugh, praising her.
Mrs. Wang Xiulian’s eyes lit up when she heard Liu Qian’s words: “This girl is wonderful, speaks gently and has a good appetite yet still maintains a fine figure!”
Jiang Feng: ???
Why did Mrs. Wang Xiulian’s adjectives sound so familiar?
Wait a minute, “A Mother’s Wish”!
!!..
Mrs. Wang Xiulian, snap out of it!
Everyone once again confirmed their tasks. The club recruitment was the day after tomorrow, and everyone’s tasks were daunting. As it was getting late, they all headed home.
“Dad, has Uncle been busy lately?” Jiang Feng asked as he went to the pantry to get some flour.
“Your uncle hasn’t had any business for two months, what could he be so busy with?” Sure enough, true to being brothers, Jiang Jiankang jabbed without hesitation.
Jiang Feng nodded and took out his phone to call Mr. Jiang Jianguo.
“Hey, Feng! What’s up with you calling me out of the blue!” The other end of the phone was noisy with the sound of a television, a woman crying, a mean mother-in-law yelling; it seemed to be the annual family ethics melodrama that Uncle’s wife adored.
“Uncle, how’s business lately?” Jiang Feng asked politely.
“Business is great, you know your uncle’s skills, right? Top-notch! I’ve been so busy lately!” Jiang Jianguo boasted loudly.
Jiang Feng: …
“It’s like this, Sir is coming to Alan City next week, since you’re busy I’ll just ask my fourth uncle instead.”
“Not busy, not busy at all, it’s only right for me as the eldest to take care of Sir; otherwise, it would look unfilial. No need to trouble your fourth uncle, they run a pet store and are busy cleaning after cats and dogs every day, which isn’t sanitary. My place is big, Sir will feel at ease living here, just tell him, my home welcomes him anytime! He can stay as long as he wants, better yet not to leave!” Jiang Jianguo blurted it all out in one breath.
“But Uncle, aren’t you busy with your business?”
“Busy with what? Running the shop isn’t as important as taking care of Sir. I’ll close the shop tomorrow! Just tell Sir that your uncle welcomes him to stay anytime at my place! He can stay as long as he likes, best not to leave!”
The reason Jiang Feng had to make the contact was because among the culinary talents of the five Jiang brothers, Jiang Jianguo was actually the best. However, his heart wasn’t in cooking, and Sir could only let him become a tailor.
As a result, Jiang Jianguo rebuffed himself to win over Uncle’s wife with his pastry skills, performing so magically that Sir, thinking he wanted to return to being a chef, eagerly taught him all he knew. But once Jiang Jianguo won her over, he stopped learning to cook and went back to being a third-rate tailor. This infuriated Sir so much that he swore never to contact Jianguo again unless Jianguo came to him asking for a scolding.
“Actually, Uncle, there’s a favor I want to ask of you,” Jiang Feng finally got to the point.
“What favor? As long as your uncle can help, I definitely will.” Hearing that Sir was coming to Alan City, Jiang Jianguo readily agreed, feeling quite pleased.
Being scolded every day didn’t matter; with Sir’s arrival, it meant the fare would upgrade from swill to a Manchu-Han Imperial Feast overnight.
Even if Sir disapproved of him, he couldn’t let his third, fourth, fifth brothers and Feng go hungry, could he?
The more Jiang Jianguo thought about it, the happier he felt, and even the melodramatic soap opera on TV seemed so thrilling.
Look at that woman, how heart-wrenchingly she cried when she was kicked out of the house, her tears run dry to the point of simply wailing.
“It’s no big deal, next Monday our school club is recruiting new members, and I’d like to ask Uncle to make some pastries and dim sum to attract freshmen,” Jiang Feng said.
“That’s easy, I’ll go to your shop tomorrow to help you make them. Tell me, what kinds do you want?” Jiang Jianguo was very generous.
“About twenty varieties, more than a hundred each.”
“Huh?”
Jiang Jianguo: ???
Could you say that again???
Jiang Feng quickly hung up the phone and began kneading the dough.
Of course, what he had just said was a joke.
More than two thousand pieces of pastry, draining all 270 pounds of Mr. Jiang Jianguo’s beefy stature, wasn’t feasible.
Jiang Feng decided to first knead twenty pounds of dough, then put it in the preservation box.
As much as Jiang Feng detested this preservation box initially, he now appreciated it all the more.
Being able to ensure the ingredients remained in perfect condition indefinitely was truly a chef’s divine tool.
As he kneaded the dough, Jiang Feng hummed a tune.
At the recruitment fair on Monday, my Chess Club will leave your Home Economics Club with nobody to recruit and nowhere to go!
That’s for not admitting boys in the beginning, gender discrimination.
Thinking about it, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Jiang Jianguo stood at the kitchen doorway, watching Jiang Feng alternate between serious and silly grins while he kneaded the dough, and couldn’t help but touch his own shiny bald head.
What had gotten into his son, laughing and kneading dough in the middle of the night?
Could it be that he was hinting that they should have plain noodles tomorrow?